Revealed: What the Royals Eat

Royal watchers, listen up: the secrets of the imperial family's food habits have been revealed. The Guardian pieced together what goes on behind the doors (um, massive iron gates) and inside the castle's dining room. But it's not all extravagance and gluttony.

Rumors swirled in 2006, when Jeremy Paxman published a story claiming that Prince Charles was a bit picky about how his eggs were cooked — so much so that he invoked fear in the chefs who prepared his morning breakfast. The spokesman for the royal family vehemently denied such claims. But the rumor resurfaced when chef Mervyn Wycherley, Prince Charles's and Lady Diana's chef during their marriage, backed up the story. According to the Guardian, "the prince's security detail would inform the kitchen as soon as HRH was on his way home for tea." Wycherley was quoted: "It was never anything other than a four-minute egg. His detectives radioed his ETA ahead. I always kept three pans boiling — just to be safe."

Charles was not the only royal to have a delicate palate when it came to eggs. Not surprising, as eggs are tricky. There is a science behind getting that perfectly runny yolk or that elusive white to stay together when poached. Queen Elizabeth reportedly likes her eggs brown and begins each day with one. The Guardian reveals that the Queen mum liked hers boiled and served quite regally — in a golden cup with a golden spoon.

The current queen also has a thing for keeping her food fresh. At her Windsor Castle estate she makes sure her cereal is tightly sealed inside Tupperware. And while she's concerned about her snap, crackle, and pop, the Guardian reports the Duke of Edinburgh doesn't leave Buckingham Palace without his trusty electric frying pan.

Though the Guardian did not report on what the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge eat to keep their svelte figures, there have been stories published that Princess Catherine likes to cook for her man when he's in town.